Coking coal hopper construction with partition



June 30, 1970 I F, -ug sc -l- ETAL 3,517,837

COKING COAL HOPPER CONSTRUCTION WITH PARTITION Filed July 5, 1968 f/IZ INVENTORS 4 TTORNE Y5 United States Patent 3,517,837 COKING COAL HOPPER CONSTRUCTION WITH PARTITION Friedrich Thiersch and Manfred Morgenstern, Recklinghausen, Germany, assignors to Firma Carl Still,

Recklinghausen, Westphalia, Germany Filed July 3, 1968, Ser. No. 742,395 Int. Cl. Cb 31/02 U.S. Cl. 21435 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A coal hopper for horizontal coking furnaces comprises a furnace roof structure having an opening for receiving a charge of the coal that includes divergent downwardly extending side walls and flat end walls. The upper end of the refractory bricks which form the apex of the chamber vault extend inwardly adjacent the lower end of the roof hopper to define a ledge on each end wall which has a vertically extending recess. A partition web includes flat end pieces which are inserted into the vertical recesses and which engage over the respective ledges. The partition web includes a rounded top edge and downwardly divergent lateral faces. The coal which enters the hopper from the top is deflected by the rounded top edge against the lateral faces and outwardly to each other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to the construction of coking furnaces and in particular to a new and useful coal hopper for horizontal coking furnaces which includes a top coking coal charging opening and an internal partiition web for deflecting the incoming flow of coal to each side.

It is known to arrange charging shafts in the roof of horizontal coking furnaces in order to facilitate the filling of the furnaces with a charge of coal. Such roof openings are closed by top covers. In order to avoid clogging and to insure the uniform dropping of the coal, the hoppers are conically widened toward the bottom or toward the mouth of the furnace vault, particularly in the direction of longitudinal furnace axis. The hopper extend through the furnance and the battery roof respectively and can be of varying depth because of the varying thickness of the battery roofs. The present thickness of the brick work above the furnace vault is usually from 0.8 to 1.5 meters.

At least the mouths of the hoppers are exposed to the temperature of the furnace vault and in this range the shafts are therefore made for example of a high temperature resistant silicon material. Above the month they are made similar to any other part of the battery roof of fire clay, for example.

The filling of the charging coal into the coking chamber is effected by means of so-called hopper cars. These cars run on the battery roof, for example on rails, and are equipped with coal bunkers and devices for lifting the hopper covers. After the covers have been lifted from the hoppers, the outlets of the coal bunkers are lowered to the mouths of the hoppers and after opening the bunker lots, the charging coal drops through the hoppers into the coking chamber. The coal which drops in a direct vertical fall on the bottom of the chamber is compressed to a higher degree than the coal portion which is deflected from the vertical fall and impinges obliquely on the hearth level or which meets with the deflected portion of the adjoining hoppers and then drops to the chamber level on the coal that is already deposited there. The result is an irregular compression of the charging coal over the entire length of the chamber and the coke obtained from the ice chamber is heterogeneous and this is undesirable for known reasons.

Attempts to avoid the above inconvenience by installing partition webs within the hoppers close to the opening of such hoppers into the chamber vault and which extend in the direction of the battery axis so as to divide the hopper outlet into two parts has been tried. Such partition webs deflect the vertically falling coal current in the hopper laterally and thus reduce the impact of the vertical direct fall. Thus, concentration of the great coal density in centers directly under the hoppers are avoided and uniformity of the thickness of the coal charge in the chambers is achieved so that the coke is homogeneous.

The partition webs which are employed are exposed to the high temperature of the chamber vaults and their width can only be limited because they must not occupy too much area of the hopper and thus stop the coal current. In addition, the partition webs are exposed to great temperature variations because the hoppers are opened periodically and therefore their durability is very limited. In practice the partition webs are always broken from the hoppers after a short time and there is therefore a cessation of the division of the coal current. Reinstallation during operation is not possible and the repair can be effected at the earliest time only after the coking chamber has cooled off.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a hopper construction which permits the reinstallation of broken out partition webs during the operation of the chamber. The hopper of the invention includes a lower region having two opposite salients which extend in the longitudinal direction of the coking chamber and which carry vertical recesses adjacent the center of the hopper. A partition web having flat end faces is engaged at its end faces into the recesses and supported on a ledge at the top of the furnace vault. The salients are preferably designed as end walls and they are at least partly visible from the top of the hopper so that the recesses are accessible through the openings in the hopper. The salients may be designed as end walls which protrude from the top and the bottom in an acute angle from the walls of the hopper and pass over downwardly into a straight vertical wall. In this way the installation of spare partition webs from the top is facilitated preferably by use of long tongues or rods which are bent off at one end and which engage, for example, in bores of the partition web.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, partition webs are made of high temperature resistant ceramic or metallic materials and dimensioned in length and width that they can be inserted into the recesses of the salients. They are advantageously made of a simplex rectangular prismatic form. The central part which does not rest on the brackets is shaped to a point at its upper end to define a knife edge for separating the coal flow. Long oblique lateral faces are formed on each side of the central knife edge portion which deflect the coa outwardly in two directions.

Accordingly, it' is an objectof the invention to provide an improved furnace hopper construction having means for facilitating the insertion and removal of a partition web.

A further object of the invention is to provide a furnace hopper construction which includes salients or end walls having vertical recesses and a partition web having flat end faces engaged in the recesses and supported at a ledge formed at the upper end of the furnace vault served by such a hopper, the partition Web having a central knife edge portion for deflecting the coal and oblique side walls on each side of the knife edge portion for directing the coal outwardly into two separate 3 directions in a downward direction into the furnace vault.

A further object of the invention is to provide a partition web construction for use in a coking furnace which includes flat end faceportions on each end supporting a partition web therebetween with divergent wall areas on each side of a central pointed portion, the end faces having projecting portions to facilitate the engagement of the projecting portions over the ledges in the coking furnace.

A further object of the invention is to provide a coking furnace hopper anl a partition wall construction which are simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the hopper having a circular top opening constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial vertical section of the hopper indicated in FIG. 1 and taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and' FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a partition web constructed in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein as indicated in FIGS. 13 comprises a segment of a furnace roof generally designated 1 having a hopper 5 defined by frame brick 2. The hopper includes downwardly divergent side walls 4 which open into the top or apex of the furnace chamber vault. The furnace roof, together with the vaults 4, are made of a suitable refractory material having the lower part filled with silica material and the upper part lined with a. fire clay.

The upper edge of the refractory bricks which form the apex of the coking chamber vault is indicated in FIG. 3 by the broken line 6. The refractory bricks form a ledge at the lower end of recesses 9, 9 which are defined in each of two side walls or salients 7, 7. The salients 7,7 protrude into the hopper opening 5 from each side at the location of the line 8 and the recesses 9 extend downwardly in a vertical direction therefrom.

In accordance with the invention, the recesses 9 receive respective flat end pieces or plate elements 12 of a partition web member generally designated 11. Each end face 12 protrudes beyond a lower rounded portion 14 of the partition web 11 by an amount to form an engagement portion for support 13 below each end piece 12.

The partition web 11 is provided with a centrally located rounded edge or dividing knife edge portion 15 which divides the coal current flowing downwardly through the opening 18 of the hopper 5. The coal flow which is deflected by the rounded edge 15 divides and impinges on each' of the lateral faces 16, 16 which deflect the coal outwardly in two directions downwardly into the furnace vault.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A hopper construction for filling charging coal in the roof of horizontal coking furnace chambers, comprising wall means defining a hopper inflow passage including two opposite salients each having a vertically extending recess terminating at their lower ends in a supporting ledge, and a partition wall member for deflecting material directed into the inflow passage outwardly into two separate flow streams having ends insertable into respective vertical recesses of said salients and supporting said partition wall member in the hopper inflow passage.

2. A hopper construction according to claim 1, wherein said salients comprise opposite end walls which extend at an acute angle in said hopper and extend as vertical walls into the coking furnace.

3. A hopper construction according to claim 1, wherein said wall means define a furnace roof having a top opening, said salients being visible from said top opening.

4. A hopper construction according to claim 1, wherein said partition wall member includes substantially flat end pieces which are receivable in the respective vertical recesses of said salients and a central partition between said end pieces having a central knife-shaped portion pointing outwardly and with oblique side walls on each side of said central knife-shaped portion.

5. A hopper construction according to claim 1, wherein said partition wall member comprises rectangular end pieces which are engageable into respective vertical recesses and a generally tear-drop-shaped central web portion having an upper central rounded top edge and side oblique deflecting walls on each side of said rounded top edge, and a rounded bottom edge portion spaced inwardly from each of said end pieces to define a support below said end pieces which rests on said ledge at the lower ends of said recesses.

6. A partition web member for use in roof hoppers of coking furnaces comprising a body of refractory material having a projecting flat substantially rectangular end piece at each end with a central web between said end pieces with oblique side faces converging upwardly to a point and being of substantially tear-drop configuration with a rounded bottom portion which extends below each of said end pieces, said end pieces extending outwardly from each end of said central web and defining a support therebeneath.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT G. SHERIDAN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 202262 

